[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 131 (Monday, September 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM AMENDMENT OF 1994

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                           HON. EARL POMEROY

                            of north dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 19, 1994

  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce a bill on behalf of 
myself and Representatives Tim Johnson, David Minge and Collin 
Peterson, that will expand the Wetlands Reserve Program to include land 
due to expire under the Water Bank Act. The Water Bank Program was 
designed to preserve wetlands and to protect and improve wildlife 
habitat, especially for migratory waterfowl.
  The program allowed landowners to enter into 10-year agreements and 
receive payment for maintaining and protecting wetland areas and 
adjacent land and to make the area a suitable habitat for migratory 
waterfowl.
  North Dakota has more acres enrolled in the Water Bank Program than 
any other State, nearly 215,000 acres. This acreage makes up a large 
part of the flyway known as the Prairie Pothole Region and supports 
waterfowl and marsh birds that are second only to the coastal marshes 
in wildlife production.
  Unfortunately, it appears that Congress is on the verge of 
discontinuing the Water Bank Program in the 1995 Agriculture 
appropriations bill. And land will come out of the program when the 
respective 10-year contracts expire, beginning in 1995.
  The bill I'm introducing today will allow the acreage that comes out 
of the Water Bank Program the opportunity of becoming eligible for 
inclusion in the Wetlands Reserve Program.
  The Wetlands Reserve Program is one component of the Environmental 
Conservation Acreage Reserve Program [ECARP]. The primary objectives of 
the Wetlands Reserve Program are to preserve, protect, and restore 
wetlands, improve wildlife habitat, and protect migratory bird habitat. 
The Secretary of Agriculture, through designated ASCS county offices, 
uses program funds to enter into contracts with landowners who operate 
farmed or converted wetlands, farmed wetland or prior converted 
wetlands and adjoining land or riparian corridors.
  In summary, the Wetlands Reserve Program provides payments to 
landowners who restore croplands and other acreage to productive 
wetlands for future generations.
  Currently, landowners whose contracts expire under the Water Bank 
Program are not specifically eligible for the Wetlands Reserve Program.
  However, there are a number of advantages to opening up the Wetlands 
Reserve program to Water Bank Program acres. A major advantage is the 
amount of water bank acres that are currently being used as nesting and 
feeding grounds of migratory waterfowl.
  Eleven States have over 750,000 acres set aside by landowners and 
enrolled in the Water Bank Program. Many of these acres have become 
prime nesting and feeding lands for migratory waterfowl. Almost 400,000 
of these acres are lands adjacent to wetlands, which is where the 
actual nesting and feeding of migratory waterfowl take place. Without 
the opportunity of continued conservation through the Wetlands Reserve 
Program, many of these wetland acres, adjacent lands, and migratory 
waterfowl are in grave danger of being eliminated.
  A second major advantage of allowing Water Bank Acres eligibility 
under the Wetlands Reserve program is to protect landowners who would 
be adversely affected by concurrent Swampbuster Regulations. A 
landowner who takes part in the Farm Program is subject to Swampbuster 
Regulations. Swampbuster does not allow a landowner to drain land for 
the purposes of agriculture production. Nor does the landowner receive 
compensation for keeping the land in its wetland status. Ultimately, 
adjacent lands currently enrolled in Water Bank may be farmed and 
natural habitats of migratory waterfowl may be destroyed. Landowners 
will look to develop natural wetlands and Water Bank acres for purposes 
of production lands, rather than, looking to continue there 
preservation as wetlands.
  Finally, for any number of landowners who are not enrolled in the 
Farm Program, the incentive to protect wetlands or adjacent lands as an 
upland game or migratory waterfowl habitat will be diminished. 
Landowners may be able to find a better income source for wetlands and 
adjacent lands currently enrolled in the Water Bank Program. These 
landowners are not subject to Swampbuster regulations and may not be 
compelled to maintain unproductive property as wetlands.
  Water Bank Program contracts are scheduled to begin expiring in 1995. 
Without allowing these acres eligibility under the Wetlands Reserve 
Program, the effect will be to unfairly penalize landowners who have 
enrolled in the Water Bank Program. Additionally, upland game and 
migratory waterfowl are in danger of losing hundreds of thousands of 
acres of precious nesting and feeding grounds. Therefore, I urge 
members to support this bill.

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